The Edensville High Series: MIRIAM Book #3

By J&M Irwin

Miriam Marah lives to dance. She finds herself in the movement of the music, but Edensville High doesn't have a dance team so she must settle for the second best thing. Cheerleading. Her arch nemesis is Salome Parker, the girl torments her, pushes her buttons and is utterly infuriating to say the least. That coupled with what happened to her two years ago has caused Miriam to change in ways that have made her bitter, angry and jealous. It's not really in her makeup to be like that, but she doesn't know how to get out of the habit of being this way. Is it just a defense mechanism? If so then how does what she did at Adam Grace's party be explained? The incident could be what changes the course of not only her life, but the lives of those closest to her. God, can she ever be forgiven? Probably not if they find out what she did.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J&M Irwin
• Release date: Aug 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310839412

J&M Irwin

The Edensville High Series is the brainchild of husband and wife writing team, Jackie and Mike Irwin. This couple may come from separate parts of the United States, but they are united in tandem storytelling. The first book of the Edensville High Series has been on Jackie's heart to write for many years, but it took the encouragement of her best friend, Mike, to write it down and write it down she did! When working with your best friend its not like work at all!Jackie is also a published author of a self help book under the pseudonym Jackie Tramel called Shelved: Waiting on God, Waiting on You. Through the EHS work, the couple hope to reach the young people (and adults) that think they must first be clean before they come to Jesus.The two reside in their beloved south just outside of Nashville, Tn where they enjoy the love and encouragement of not only each other, but their family, friends and granddaughter whom they call LoVeY.

Book preview

EDENSVILLE HIGH SERIES

by J&M Irwin

MIRIAM

High school doesn't last forever but the choices we make can…

Custom Cover Design by Jackie Irwin

Cover Photography by Irwin Hills Photography

Editing by Brendan Martel

[e-mail]

http://edensvillehighseries.wix.com/edensvillehighseries

Copyright August 2015

Published by Irwin Hills Publishing

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite eBook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, place and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter One- That girl's got brass

Chapter Two- One Church united with cliques

Chapter Three- She's a dancer she needs her legs

Chapter Four- Playing the role of the harlot this week

Chapter Five- Best friends!

Chapter Six- Don't talk to strangers

From Us to You

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Chapter One

That girl's got brass

An elbow nudged the occupant next to them. "Look, look, look…she came…she actually showed up!" Came the loud whisper that accompanied the elbow.

Wow, she's got some brass, I’ll give her that. Another leaned over and added to it.

I can't believe she's showing her face…. Came yet another.

She’s always thought that she was better than everyone else. Doesn’t she Miriam? The question rang true to each one of them that were gathered around the co-captain of the cheerleading squad. They just wanted her approval of it.

Seems there were plenty of things to be said about Eve St. Clair this morning, especially after last night's party at Adam Grace's house.

Don’t get me into your petty jealousies. I don’t have a dog in this fight. If she wants to sleep around and get pregnant…that's all on her. Miriam popped the chewing gum in her mouth and stated matter-of-factly as she filed her fingernails purposely not looking up at any of the girls that were gathered around her in the church pews.

"Are you serious…she’s pregnant?" Rachel Laban exclaimed in a loud whisper.

Miriam frowned. "Ugh… She squeezed the nail file and looked up. ...uh…no…that's not what I said, so don't go there… She turned the point of the fingernail file toward the girl to get her point across. Leah, Rachel's twin opened and closed her mouth several times rather quickly at that moment. Miriam couldn't let it go. Did I say that she was? Did I? She looked around at the girls closing in on her. No, I did not! She hissed her own answer. So don’t put words in my mouth."

Hagar, who was sitting on the other side of Ruth, leaned forward. Oh come on Miriam, you know as well as we do that Eve thinks she is better than anyone else, especially you. They were all studying her face for a reaction when Salome Parker spoke up.

"Well, the way I heard it was that she was in the car with Lucian and Jezebel. Somebody said they were having a threesome, and when they ignored her that's when she got mad and started beating up Lucian's car." The new girl in the group was sitting in the pew behind them and had leaned over to add to the other's conversation.

Shut up! Miriam turned on all of them. "…and I mean it...just shut up… She hissed, not loud, but loud enough for the ones sitting around her to hear it. If you want to talk about things you don't know anything about then you need to go and find somewhere else to do it. Her eyes narrowed. …because I swear, if you say one more thing in my presence, I will take this nail file and…"

"Easy there killer, you’re in church. Remember?" Jacob leaned back over the pew and patted her on the bare knee. She tried to stab his hand with the point of her fingernail file, but he was too fast and jerked it away feigning pain like she had actually stabbed him. Everyone knew that he was too fast to suffer the wrath of Miriam Marah. She glared at him as he flashed that beautiful smile he used all too well to his advantage.

As with the generations before them, the youth of their church seemed to gather on the back two pews whenever there was a service in the sanctuary. It was like their backsides were made out of lead and the pews in the back were magnets.

This Sunday morning wasn’t any different. Miriam sat in the middle of the very back pew, however, what was different about today was that Eve was normally sitting right next to her and today she wasn’t. This seemed to throw the whole dynamic off of how things worked for Edensville. Instead of Eve being seated to her right, Miriam found herself surrounded by numerous Walk-Ons or classic wanna b's jockeying for an invisible position that they thought might be available. Whatever, she didn't care. There was no position to be filled. They were Walk-ons and Walk-Ons just didn't make the transition to a Popular that easily, if ever.

Her head hurt this morning and she had more to deal with than a couple of wanna b's wanting to use someone else's downfall as their leg up. She'd had a rough night and wasn’t feeling it today. She ignored them as she went back to work on her fingernail edges and tried hard to fight the urge to stab one of them with the file.

*******************

Sunday mornings were extremely habitual at the First Church of Edensville, in fact, you could practically set your watch to their service. It was tradition for the congregation to come together before dismissing to the appropriate classrooms for Sunday school. Whoever had started the tradition no one could say, but there they were yet again waiting for the service to begin with…wait for it….ah yes…there he was approaching the pulpit now, the minister of music, with the same spiel he said every Sunday.

Please rise and join with us your voices this morning for a hymn.

Miriam frowned. Seems this Sunday was no different. The minister of music stepped back into the pulpit after the head deacon called everyone's attention to welcome them once again. Then like clockwork he said the same thing, at the same time, every Sunday morning. Give or take a few seconds. Once, just once, she wanted to hide his notes and see if he could go off memory. Lord knows she could.

What can wash away my sins...

The song leader began, and the congregation joined in with nothing but the blood of Jesus and then they all finished the hymn together.

"…bet it's gonna take a double dose of the blood to get those sins out, huh?" Jacob leaned over to Joseph and motioned toward Eve St. Clair. The section filled with football players cracked up like a bunch of little girls on a playground.

Dude come on, give her a break. Jonathan coaxed.

"Yeah, you can’t call the virgin Eve, I mean Mary…a slut. That's not what Jesus would do!" Jacob tried to act like he was disciplining the group, but he lost it and cracked. He and Noah both put their hands over their mouths to try and hold in their laughter.

Eve had obviously made the choice of not sitting with the Populars today. She was sitting three pews up on the opposite side of the sanctuary with her parents. The fact that both of her parents had come today drew a lot of attention too. There were rumors swirling around the church that the St. Clairs were splitting up because he hadn't been at church in months. Oh how the gossip mill ran.

Eve could hear the giggles and laughter from the group of Populars on the back pew. She tried really hard to not look back at them. She tried concentrating on the hymnal in her hands, but couldn't. She wasn't strong enough to ignore the jabs, the comments, the whispers and the talk that was going on in the back of the sanctuary. She slipped up and turned around catching Jacob Wells making fun of her and acting like he too was holding a hymnal. That wasn't the bad part though. It was Noah Arkley's gesture that brought tears to her eyes.

Noah reached under Jacob's Edensville High sweatshirt and was making it magically grow like Jacob was pregnant. Jacob, dropped his mythical hymnal and grabbed the side of his face with his free hand and looked down as if he were the recipient of the Immaculate Conception. Blasphemous much? Pastor Boaz, their youth pastor, looked back at them over his shoulder and frowned. The delinquents immediately straightened up and pretended to be singing.

Oh, grow up. Came the words of wisdom from Miriam’s pew as she stood watching the spectacle.

Jacob turned around to whisper his protest under the guise of the singing congregational hymn. Oh M, come on, we’re just having a little bit of fun.

Miriam rolled her eyes and sat down. His focus still on her, it took more than a moment for him to realize that he was actually the only one still standing.

The remedy for his mistake came from the song leader himself. Mr. Wells?

Jacob turned around smiled. Yes sir?

Would you mind dismissing us in prayer for Sunday school? It wasn’t a request. Those that had already bowed their heads didn't see Jacob look down and pop a giggling Joseph in arm. His dad standing at the back of the room near the doors behind their pew reached over and gave Joseph a swat on the back of the head. He sobered pretty quickly at that point and listened as Jacob dismissed the congregation in prayer.

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day and the opportunity to come together to hear your Word. Please bless our Sunday school teachers as they bring forth the teachings today and Pastor Black as he brings forth the message. Amen. He had heard his father do it a thousand times. It was a stock prayer said a thousand times. A traditional prayer that he had heard over and over again so many times that it just flowed from him like water from a fountain.

They were officially dismissed for Sunday school by the magical word Amen. What did amen mean anyway? The parishioners made their way to the appropriate Sunday school class by either gender or age. Jacob, Miriam, Esau, Joseph, Jonathan and Eve were among the other teenagers that were attending Sunday school this morning. They made their way downstairs to the basement where most of them had gone since they were little kids. They had just moved from room to room, teacher to teacher as a group as they grew older.

Scoot over…no you move...hey make room for me! Miriam heard Sham, Ham and Japheth arguing over the seating as they did every Sunday. She rolled her eyes and went to where she usually sat in the back and placed her purse on the seat next to where she was going to sit down.

Eve walked past her and straight into the classroom taking a seat opposite from where they usually sat together. She hadn't said a word to anyone since she walked into the building with her parents this morning.

Jacob quickly slid into the seat next to Miriam and stretched out his legs taking up all the available space so that she couldn’t sit down anywhere, but on his lap. M didn't realize what he had done and went to sit down. Well tried was the better word for it. Jacob liked to play the same little game every chance he got with girls. He would offer the seat next to himself for them to sit by him and when she went to sit down he would then slide over serendipitously so she wound up sitting on his lap to which he would spout off. Awe… I didn’t know you cared or fiend embarrassment and mockingly say Girl would you try to control yourself we are in public/church/school or wherever! It didn't matter. He thought it was cute and funny. Most girls did too, but not Miriam, she on the other hand thought it was a childish prank and was way over it.

The guys on the football team usually got a kick out of it regardless of who he did it on and no matter how many times he did it too. Miriam had grown tired of it, today was not the day for play. Before she realized what she had done she had hauled off and punched his shoulder this time.

Jacob! Why do you have to be so stupid? He played a great victim. He held up his hands in as if he were fending off a great foe all the while in his defense laughing as he mocked pain, hurt and fear. Their Sunday school teacher, Mrs. Black, the pastor's wife just so happened to step into the classroom at that moment. Great.

Miriam? Mrs. Tabitha Black stopped in her tracks.

Yes ma’am? Miriam sighed and directed her attention toward Mrs. Black, but never took her eyes off of Jacob Wells. He was obstructed from the Sunday school teacher's view by the positioning of where he sat between the two females. Miriam stood and the teacher had stopped in the doorway. Jacob was grinning, oh how she wanted to smack that grin off of his stupid face!

I believe you owe, Mr. Wells an apology. We do not use violence to solve issues that we have with our brothers and sisters, and we definitely do not do that in church! She was clearly upset. Her voice raised a little.

Miriam was put on the spot and all eyes were boring into her. She hesitated, thinking then blinked once…twice… three times before speaking with so much sugary sweet sarcasm that it sounded like she was talking to a two year old. I’m sorry that you made me hit you, Jacob.

Mrs. Black sighed heavily. "Miriam…that was not an apology."

Miriam turned on the older woman with eyes of bewilderment. "But Mrs…"

Mrs. Black held up her hand to stop her. Miriam, the Word of God says to turn the other cheek when someone wrongs you.

"Oh gosh Mrs. Black… Jacob peeked around Miriam to make eye contact with the Sunday school teacher. …don’t tell her that. She’ll aim for the other one, now!" Jacob threw his hands up.

"Jacob hush, you’re not helping. She sobered and looked at Miriam again. Now, Miriam?" She waited for Miriam to apologize. Everyone could see that she was set on it by now.

Jac… Miriam began, but Mrs. Black corrected her.

Miriam, you can catch a lot more bees with honey, dear than with vinegar. Try apologizing with a smile on your face. It'll mean more to your recipient.

Miriam turned back to Jacob and smiled down at him through gritted teeth with eyes that burned with pure fire. I’m sorry that I hit you, Jacob. The old Southern saying sugar wouldn’t have melted in her mouth could have definitely been said